Nouvelles

NAVY Bay City Marine Inc.,* National City, California (N32253-17-D-0003); Caliedo & Sons Services Inc.,* Ewa Beach, Hawaii (N32253-17-D0004); Delphinus Engineering Inc.,* Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N32253-17-D-0005); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.,* Portsmouth, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0006); Propulsion Controls Engineering,* Aiea, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0007); Pacific Shipyards International LLC,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0008); QED Systems Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0009); Confluence Corp., doing business as Regal Service Co.,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32553-18-D-0003); Marisco LTD,* Kapolei, Hawaii (N32253-18-D-0004); and Integrated Marine Services Inc.,* Chula Vista, California (N32553-18-D-0005), are awarded a $49,000,000 modification, increasing the ceiling for a total of $98,000,000 on the surface multi-award (SURFMAC), indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The SURFMAC is a firm-fixed-price IDIQ for the procurement-involving repair, maintenance and alteration of U.S. government waterborne vessels and surface ships visiting or homeported in the Hawaiian Islands. Work will be performed on Oahu, Hawaii. Types of trades required are ship fitting, sheet metal, welding, pipefitting, painting, machining/mechanical, electrical, electronics, woodworking, lagging and rigging. Sample work includes, but is not limited to, ventilation, air conditioning, tank work, structural repairs, fumigation, electrical system repair, pump repair, fan repair, decking, fire system repairs and updates. Work is expected to be completed by September 2022. The 10 contractors may compete for delivery orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Funds will be obligated at the order level. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Braintree, Massachusetts, is awarded a $42,192,128 not-to-exceed, undefinitized modification to previously awarded contract N63394-19-C-0007 to exercise options for production of Next Generation Surface Search Radar (NGSSR) systems. The NGSSR will replace all variants of the current AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-73, BridgeMaster E series and commercial-off-the-shelf radar systems. Work will be performed in Wake Forest, North Carolina (85%); Chantilly, Virginia (14%); and Braintree, Massachusetts (1%). This contract modification will acquire the first NGSSR production lot following a contract award for design and production of three qualification systems. The primary objective of NGSSR is to replace legacy systems due to current military threats and obsolescence issues. Work is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); and 2017 and 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,096,064 will be obligated at time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The NGSSR was not competitively procured in accordance with 15 U.S. Code 638(r)(4) under the Small Business Innovation Research Phase III program/2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Greenville, South Carolina, is awarded a $25,918,520 modification (P00026) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00421-15-D-0007. This modification exercises an option to extend services for organizational, selected intermediate and limited depot maintenance and logistics support for Northrop F-5F and F-5N aircraft in support of the Specialized and Proven Aircraft Program. Work will be performed in Key West, Florida (40%); Fallon, Nevada (30%); and Yuma, Arizona (30%), and is expected to be completed by January 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Swan Contracting LLC,* Petersborough, New Hampshire, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0034). Blue Tarpon Construction LLC,* Gulf Breeze, Florida, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0035). Venegas Construction Corp.,* Ponce, Puerto Rico, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0036). Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $34,951,039 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee) contract for system operations and sustainment services and test and training services in support of the Saturn Arch Aerial Intelligence Systems Quick Reaction Capability Program. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia; Bridgewater, Virginia; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army Reserve) funds in the amount of $34,951,039 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-C-0024). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY US Foods Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 127-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Virginia and North Carolina, with a Nov. 17, 2020, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3281). (Awarded July 10, 2020) New Maryland Clothing,* Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $12,268,935 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's and women's uniform dress coats. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(3), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-3. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period. Location of performance is Maryland, with a July 13, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1298). American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $7,636,368 modification (P00038) to 50-year contract SP0600-15-C-8302 with no option periods to increase the operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement charges for the water and wastewater utility systems at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Locations of performance are New Jersey and California, with a May 31, 2066, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2066 Air Force operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. AIR FORCE Thomas Instrument Inc., Brookshire, Texas, has been awarded a $7,100,000 requirements-type contract for the depot-level overhaul of the C-5 visor door actuator. Work will be performed in Brookshire, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 13, 2025. This award is the result of a non-competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8538-20-D-0004). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2273894/source/GovDelivery/

By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — Government officials have signed an agreement that could lead to the joint modernization of the British and U.S. armies in key technology areas. British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey and U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy signed a memorandum of agreement on joint modernization for a number of technologies during a meeting in London, the British Ministry of Defence announced July 14. In a statement, the British government said the agreement is a sign of “intent to formalise a number of ongoing initiatives between the two Armies, boosting opportunities to co-operate effectively as modern warfare continues to evolve.” The agreement initially aims to cover developing, complementary capabilities from 2023 to 2027, specifically: Networks: the shared development of digital infrastructure to support U.K.-U.S. operations. Long-range precision fires: improving the bilateral capability development. Future vertical lift: creating closer affiliation in the development of helicopter capabilities. Soldier and ground lethality: building on the existing collaboration to improve the effectiveness of land forces. Assured positioning, navigation and timing: providing greater coherence in the development of multidomain technologies. The goal is to narrow the gap between British and American forces during joint operations, according to the announcement. Heappey said the agreement “signals our shared determination to develop the novel capabilities that will give us that battle-winning edge and opportunity for the defense industry on both sides of the Atlantic.” The MoD said the officials discussed in detail plans to work together to modernize programs and capabilities of shared importance. McCarthy said the partnership “allows costly and complex problems to be distributed and helps protect the industrial base through enabling faster innovation and cost-sharing towards achieving our modernization priorities.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/07/14/us-and-british-armies-eye-technology-collaboration/

Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force's top acquisition official hopes money will materialize for small launch providers whose Defense Production Act contracts were withdrawn earlier this month due to a lack of funding. In mid-June, the Space and Missile Systems Center announced that it would award ride-share contracts to six firms by using funding meant to bolster companies made financially vulnerable by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the government in early July reversed course, recalling the $116 million designated for small launch providers because of “additional small business needs that were generated,” such as other government loan programs, said Will Roper, the Air Force's assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics “My hope is that whenever there's new [Defense Production Act] Title 3 funding or when resource frees up due to other efforts not executing as planned, that those [contracts] are the first to go back into the hopper,” Roper told reporters Tuesday. “If I were asked today to put in one new Title 3 initiative, it's small launch because I think it's going to be an amazing industry base for this country, and if properly influenced, my military mission can be highly disruptive in future war fighting, especially if satellites can be put up in a very responsive way that changes the calculus for holding space assets at risk.” In the June announcement, SMC stated that Aevum, Astra, X-BOW, Rocket Lab USA, Space Vector and VOX Space would each receive sole-source contracts for two ride-share missions to be conducted over the next 24 months. But it may no longer be possible for the companies to get all $116 million originally set aside for those contracts, Roper acknowledged. “I don't know if that much will free up,” he said. “We have had quite a few come in lower than initially estimated. So it's possible that a resource will be freed, and whatever it is, we can scale some effort in small launch.” With venture capital drying up due to worldwide economic instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pentagon leaders have been vocal about the impact on the emerging small launch industry, which they see as a critical capability that could allow the Space Force to launch small satellites more cheaply and rapidly. In April, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord labeled it — along with shipbuilding and aviation — as one of the three sectors the Defense Department was most concerned could be permanently impacted. “Much of the industry have limited flight capability or are in the critical transition from development to flight, and this funding restriction may prevent or delay these systems,” Col. Rob Bongiovi, director of SMC Launch Enterprise Systems Directorate, told C4ISRNET in April. “The Space and Missile Systems Center is evaluating the impacts to the small launch industrial base to consider actions to enable a robust U.S. launch industrial base.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/07/14/funding-for-small-launch-providers-still-in-question-after-withdrawal-of-116m-in-contracts/

The Air Force should field several iterations of improved drones before 2030 -- not just to replace the MQ-9 -- but to do everything from ISR to strike to counter-air missions. By THERESA HITCHENSon July 14, 2020 at 4:44 PM WASHINGTON: Air Force acquisition head Will Roper is worried the ever-shrinking US defense industrial base may force DoD to nationalize major programs in the not-so-distant future — expressing surprise that other senior leaders are not more concerned. “I think it's really important that we find a new model where there are no big winners, and no big losers, but continual competition,” he told reporters today. “Because if our industrial base collapses any more, we'll have to nationalize advanced aviation — and maybe other parts of the Air Force that currently aren't competitive.” While rushing to say that, as of now, there has not been any internal Pentagon discussion about nationalization of the aerospace industry, he told reporters today: “I don't think that's out of the tea leaf reading. “It has surprised me in this job that there's not more concern in the Pentagon about the continual shrinking of the defense industrial base,” he added. “And it's not because the defense industrial base has gotten worse — it's just that programs are so few and far between.” He explained that this reality forces defense companies to acquire “a pretty diversified portfolio” because the only competitions “may be a fighter one year, a satellite the next year, and a helicopter the next year. “We've seen this trend of major acquisitions to get those portfolios diverse enough so that you can deal with the chutes and rapids of few and far between major acquisitions. So that should be a huge concern to us, especially with our research and development dollars in defense only accounting for 20 percent of the total nation's.” A shrinking base means less competition; combine with that the fact that innovation now happens primarily in the commercial sector, not the defense sector. “I don't have to tell you that, eventually, we will nationalize warfighting capabilities and the defense industrial base, it will happen by necessity — by national security necessity, but I don't think that that's a fait accompli,” he said. Digital Century Series That concern is one of the reasons Roper is betting on the Digital Century Series concept as the Air Force considers its development plans and procurement strategy for the highly classified Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD). “My hope in the Digital Century Series is to stabilize, at least for tactical aircraft, the collapse of our aviation industrial base any further,” he said. The new Program Executive Office for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft working on those programs has drafted a study to determine whether that concept — where new versions of aircraft are rotated into the fleet every 15 or so years — is actually cheaper than traditional programs, where up front unit costs are low but vendors make bank on modernization and sustainment. In major acquisition programs where one winner takes all, he explained, “there is no way to tell industry, in a way you can enforce, not to significantly invest — it's too big of a deal, they have to win. That internal investment is then what creates that strong incentive to lock into the program, to put intellectual property into all different interfaces, no matter how good we are at trying to police it out of the system.” “The designer always have mechanisms to skirt around our best policy and oversight,” he said wryly, because without being able to ensure future contracts for upgrades and upkeep, the firm wouldn't have a business case. But for the Air Force, modernizing and sustaining aircraft after year 15 results in increased costs of somewhere between three and eight percent per year, he said. The idea with Digital Century Series, by contrast, is to break out of this model into one where the up-front price the Air Force pays for new aircraft — “somewhere between X-planes and mass production” — is essentially the “total price of ownership.” The hope, he said, is that while the up-front unit prices will be higher, the cost over time will be significantly lower than a traditional major program buy. And in fact, he said, Air Force's “compare and contrast” study of the two different acquisition models so far has found that the Digital Century Series concept is “slightly cheaper.” “Maybe significantly cheaper,” he added, “but slightly cheaper than a traditional acquisition,” even one leveraging digital engineering to help keep the costs of future modernizations down. However, Roper said he has now brought in independent experts to “check our assumptions, check our math,” and is awaiting the results of their assessment. “I think in three weeks, I'll be able to go from pencil to ink and say whether this is viable or not,” he said. MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-Next In the wide-ranging briefing, Roper also touched on the hot-button MQ-9 Reaper replacement effort that has piqued congressional concern. The reason the service is taking a bit of time to study future options, he explained, is the belief that future peer combat will require not just a new unmanned aerial vehicle for ISR/strike — but instead a multi-mission family of drones to do everything from air-to-air missions to ISR/strike to base defense. “We need these UAVs to be true utility players, to use the baseball analogy,” he suggested. But Roper knows he's got to keep a close eye on the Hill, because “building a utility player that can meet multiple mission demands is not something that our acquisition system has historically been good at. And we've got to get good quickly to convince Congress that this is a good pivot, and I look forward to having those discussions that summer.” Roper said he met with the development team studying concepts for the “Next Generation UAS ISR/Strike Platform” two weeks ago to discuss everything from how high-end drones could be teamed with relatively inexpensive and attritable ones to how to do “smart automation” that limits the number of people needed to operate them. “We made the pivot to divest MQ-9 to pivot into high-end warfighting, and we're gonna have to build new systems for high-end warfighting and teamed systems for high-end fighting. So I think the litmus test for ‘MQ-Next' is going to be what other letter can we assign to its name because it's doing a mission other than is ISR strike,” he said, with a chuckle. “Ones that that jumped to the forefront for me,” he added, “are arming systems with air-to-air weapons, not just air-to-ground, so that you could play a role with forward tac air, but also being able to pull said system back to defend high-value assets that don't have defensive systems that are able to hold adversary air at risk. I think that would be a wonderful combination.” Roper said it's necessary for the Air Force “to explore more than just the MQ-9 mission” of gathering ISR data and striking targets in places like the Middle East, because there simply isn't enough budget leeway to do otherwise as the service shifts focus to combat with peer competitors. Lawmakers are concerned that the service doesn't yet have a solid acquisition strategy for replacing the venerable MQ-9 — a platform that has flown more than 4 million operational flight hours. Thus there has been a wave of congressional opposition to the Air Force's decision in its 2021 budget request to begin divesting of the aircraft, and its February stop-order on production by prime General Atomics. The full House Appropriations Committee today approved its subcommittee's decision to add $343.6 million for 16 MQ-9s to the Air Force's budget — with Rep. Ken Calvert noting the importance of the drone to combatant commanders. Report language accompanying the bill highlighted concerns among lawmakers — also voiced by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees — that the Air Force's replacement effort is moving too slowly could result in a gap in capability. Roper, however, said that not only can the Air Force have new drones fielded by 2030, but that there should be several iterations of improved platforms developed over the next decade. “Absolutely we can get there by 2030. In a digitally engineered future,10 years is an eternity. I would hope we could spiral multiple times within that 10 years,” he stressed. Responses to the Air Force's June request for information are due July 24, and judging by discussions so far,. vendors are likely to offer a number of approaches. “I expect to see a lot of high-end tech options in the submissions that are trying to help us do a current mission, other than ISR strike, differently,” he said, noting that if a system can do that, it also makes ISR easier especially in a permissive environment. “If you can do those high-end missions, then I'm willing to hit the ‘I believe' button,” he said. On the other hand, he also expects contractors to come in with “a different approach to survivability” — perhaps proposing large quantities of cheap attritable drones; or concepts that team sensor carrying drones with others carrying munitions, Roper said. “You can imagine, designing things that may not return is a complete cultural shift for us and for industry, but I've been pretty pleased with the informal engagements thus far,” he said, “and I expect to see some really creative thinking.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/air-forces-roper-suggests-nationalizing-advanced-aviation-industry

Country's public services, procurement department exercises option to secure additional 5 years of military vehicle support TBB Staff Jul 13, 2020 Mack Defense will continue to provide support services for the Canadian army through 2025. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) recently exercised its option to extend the Mack Trucks subsidiary's in-service and support contract for an additional five years, running from 2020 to 2025, and covering more than 1,500 Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) Standard Military Pattern (SMP) vehicles. “Mack Defense's MSVS SMP vehicle systems provide critical capabilities that the Canadian Armed Forces depend on,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “We look forward to maximizing the uptime of these vehicles as we continue to provide these support services.” The contract covers all MSVS SMP vehicles, trailers and armored protection systems, Mack said, and will enable Mack Defense to provide support services and the provision of spare parts and materials for level one and two maintenance tasks performed by the customer. Equipment requiring in-depth maintenance, such as repair and overhaul activities or warranty repairs, will be handled by a facility in the area of Quebec City, Quebec. Mack Defense will provide support by delivering spare parts to Canadian Forces Depots (CFD) in Edmonton, Alberta and Montreal, Quebec. Mack Defense was awarded two contracts in 2015 valued at $725 million CAD by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada (now PSPC), on behalf of the Department of National Defense, to deliver more than 1,500 8x8 MSVS SMP trucks and to provide in-service support for the fleet. The MSVS SMP is available in a number of variants, including cargo, material handling cranes, load handling systems (LHS) and mobile repair trucks (MRT). The 1,587th and final MSVS SMP vehicle was delivered in February 2020. The program also delivered 322 trailers and 161 armored protection system cabs.

Posted on July 14, 2020; Boeing Press Release The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a nearly US$1.2 billion contract to build the first lot of eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets to help the service meet its capacity requirements and add capability to its fighter fleet. The award also covers support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. Already under construction at the Boeing F-15 production facility in St. Louis, the first two jets deliver next year. The U.S. Air Force is also announcing the overall indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling value of nearly US$23 billion for F-15EX aircraft. “The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, due in large part to its digital backbone,” said Lori Schneider, Boeing F-15EX program manager. “Its unmatched range, price and best-in-class payload capacity make the F-15EX an attractive choice for the U.S. Air Force.” The F-15EX carries more weapons than any other fighter in its class, and can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weighing up to 7,000 pounds. To further support the digital airframe and advance rapid technology insertion, the F-15 program serves as a pathfinder for the Department of Defense's DevSecOps initiative, aimed at developing secure, flexible and agile software. Additionally, open mission systems architecture ensures its viability for decades. “F-15EX brings together benefits of digital engineering, open mission systems and agile software development to keep it affordable and upgradeable for decades to come,” said Prat Kumar, Boeing vice-president and F-15 program manager. “This means we can rapidly test and field new capabilities on F-15EX keeping our warfighters ahead of threats.” Pilots and mechanics currently operating the F-15 anticipate transitioning to the F-15EX in a matter of days as opposed to years. Future plans call for as many as 144 aircraft. “We listened to our customer every step of the way when developing this exciting jet,” said Kumar. “What we will soon deliver is a modern and robust aircraft that supports our nation's defense by incorporating the latest systems, sensors and weapons.” https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/boeing-and-u-s-air-force-ink-historic-deal-for-f-15ex-fighter-jet/

Mark Pomerleau A U.S. Cyber Command official said that when they examine whether any given operation or even when a strategy has been successful, they're not looking at metrics, but rather outcomes. “It's really about: have we enabled the collective defense of the nation,” Maj. Gen. John Morrison, Cyber Command's outgoing chief of staff, told C4ISRNET in a July interview. Roughly two years ago, Cyber Command and the Department of Defense started a paradigm shift for cyber policy and operations. The 2018 DoD cyber strategy tasked Cyber Command to “defend forward,” which is best described as operators working on foreign networks to prevent attacks before they happen. The way Cyber Command meets those goals is through persistent engagement, which means challenging adversary activities wherever they operate. Part of the need for a change was that adversaries were achieving their objectives but doing so below the threshold of armed conflict – in the so-called gray zone – through cyberspace. DoD wanted to stop that from happening through more assertive cyberspace action. Some in the academic community have wanted to see some way in which the command can measure the success of these new approaches. But Morrison explained that these outcomes, or intended effects during operations, could be enabling other partners – foreign or other agencies within the U.S. government – to take action in defense of the nation. For example, he said that when Cyber Command teams encounter malware they haven't seen before, they share it with partners in government, such as FBI or DHS, which can lead to the greater national collective defense. He also noted that building partnerships enables a sense of collective defense in cyberspace and can help significantly in the future against sophisticated adversaries. Morrison will be replaced at Cyber Command by Maj. Gen. David Isaacson. It is unclear where Morrison is headed next. The need for flexibility As Cyber Command has gained more authorities in recent years, it has been able to conduct significantly more operations and different types of operations as well, Morrison said. Throughout these missions, leaders have learned they must be flexible, be it in tactics, structure of teams, or the capabilities they need or develop. “We have thinking adversaries that we go against every single day. That drives us to change how we operate,” Morrison said. “You change your tactics, techniques and procedures but that's also going to drive changes in how we train and what we train ... It drives how we do capability development and development of capabilities and the employment of those capabilities, which again ties back to training at a much faster pace in this space.” Morrison noted that this includes how teams are organized. He explained the way defensive cyber protection teams were first envisioned when they were created in 2012-2013 is not at all how they fight now. To keep up with dynamic adversaries, Cyber Command is keeping closer watch on readiness metrics developed by the command for its cyber teams. This is a framework that details standards for how teams are equipped, manned and supplied. Cyber protection teams were detailed first and now Cyber Command has readiness metrics for combat mission teams, the offensive teams that support combatant commands, and intelligence/support teams. Officials are still working through metrics for what are called national teams that are charged with defending the nation. The command also needs to improve the way it feeds operational requirements into capabilities cyber warriors can use, Morrison said. This includes improving acquisition practices for both of the programs of record Cyber Command is executing through its Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture — which guides capability development priorities and includes the Unified Platform and Persistent Cyber Training Environment — and the more rapidly developed tools needed on the fly. “That's where you've got the ability inside the command now to rapidly produce that capability through a variety of means and get it into the hands of our operators as quick as possible,” he said. In fact, the Army has begun to embed tool developers and coders alongside operators through the Rapid Cyber Development Network to more quickly meet urgent needs. This allows them in almost in near real time to develop or change tools to meet requirements. “How do we do capability development in a much smoother fashion than we sometimes do today where we're able to rapidly assess, prioritize, resource operational requirements to produce a capability that we can then get back into the hands of our operators as quickly as possible,” Morrison said. From these capabilities that are developed for shorter term needs, he said the key will be deciding if they want to move them into a program of record. Will it be a longer term capability, will it adjust tactics, techniques and procedures or training? “We've got to work those pieces,” he explained. On the longer term, program of record capabilities, he noted officials still want the iterative development associated with more software-centric systems as opposed to more traditional military hardware. Integration with combatant commands Cyber is much more ingrained in military planning and operations than it was in years prior, Morrison said, however, work remains. There is now a closer link between the combatant commands and Cyber Command elements that plan, coordinate, synchronize and conduct cyber operations on their behalf, Morrison said, noting that they are still maturing. These include the Joint Force Headquarters-Cybers‚ which are commanded by each of the service cyber component commanders, and plan, synchronize and conduct operations for combatant commands they're assigned to, and new entities being created called cyber operations-integrated planning elements. These are forward extensions of the Joint Force Headquarters resident within the combatant commands to better coordinate cyber planning with other operations for the combatant commander. These entities all enable a greater central connective tissue from a Cyber Command perspective as they can feed from the theater level back to the command providing a global cyberspace picture. “You have to take not only a regional view of anything that you're doing, but, when you can bring the power of a global enterprise behind it, that's a pretty powerful capability for our nation,” Morrison said. “We are in the process of building every one of our CO-IPEs but I definitely think that we are heading in the right direction, especially as [the CO-IPEs] get built and they integrate closer and closer with their supported combatant commands.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2020/07/10/cyber-commands-measure-of-success-outcomes/

By Matthew Fisher Special to Global News Posted July 13, 2020 7:00 am Updated July 13, 2020 11:32 am Those who follow developments in the Indo-Pacific often claim that Australia has a far more robust security posture there than Canada because of geographic necessity. The argument is that Australia must be especially vigilant because China is closer to it than Canada is to China. That perception may partially explain why Australia spends nearly twice as much per capita on defence as Canada does with little public discussion Down Under, let alone complaint. But here's the thing. It depends where you start measuring from, of course, but the idea that Australia is physically closer to China is hokum. By the most obvious measure, Vancouver is 435 kilometres closer to Beijing (actual distance 8,508 km) than Beijing is to Sydney (8,943 km). By another measure, Sydney is only 1,000 km closer to Shanghai than Vancouver is. Mind you, it must also be said that Australia is far more reliant than Canada on trade moving through the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. Canada has many more shipping lanes to choose from. Despite their similarly resource-oriented export economies, extreme climates and thin populations, there are startling differences in how Canada and Australia have tackled the security challenges of this century. The standard line from Ottawa these days is that the Canadian government cannot possibly consider any other issue at the moment because the government's entire focus is on coronavirus. Yet faced with the same lethal disease and the horrendous economic fallout and deficits that it's triggered, Australia has found time to address alarming security concerns in the western Pacific. Pushing the COVID-19 calamity aside for a moment, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared last week that because it was “a more dangerous world,” his country intended to increase defence spending by as much as 40 per cent, or a whopping $255 billion over the next decade. The money will pay for submarines, greatly improved cyber capabilities, and the establishment of military partnerships with smaller nations in the western Pacific, which are constantly bullied by China. The Canadian government has often seemed paralyzed by the COVID-19 crisis and China's kidnappings of the Two Michaels and has been slow to react to the rapidly changing security environment. This includes not yet banning Huawei's G5 cellular network, as Australia has done. Nor has Ottawa indicated anything about the future of defence spending in an era when Canada's national debt has now ballooned to more than $1 trillion. Faced with similar public health and economic challenges as Canada, Australian diplomats, generals and admirals have recently increased military and trade ties with India and are completing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Japan that affords troops from the two countries legal protections and presupposes that they will collaborate more closely with each other in the future. Canberra also inked a deal with Tokyo last week to collaborate on war-fighting in the space domain and closer military ties. Despite complaints of “gross interference” in China's internal affairs by Beijing's foreign ministry, Australia has also agreed to let about 14,000 visitors from Hong Kong extend their visas by five years and will offer an accelerated path for Chinese students to obtain Australian citizenship. Perhaps most alarming from Beijing's point-of-view, the Quad intelligence group, which includes Australia, Japan, India and the U.S., could be about to add a military dimension. Navies from all four countries are expected to take part in joint naval exercises soon in the Indian Ocean. Even before announcing a huge increase, defence spending was already at 1.9 per cent of Australia's GDP. The defence budget in Canada has remained static near 1 per cent for years, despite a pledge to NATO six years ago by former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, and repeated several times since by current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that defence spending would soar to 2 per cent. As it is, the Australian Defence Force spends about $15 billion a year more on defence than Canada does. That money buys a lot of kit and capability. The ADF has two new fleets of frontline fighter jets, the Super Hornet and the F-35, has attack helicopters and new maritime surveillance aircraft, is building a dozen French-designed attack submarines, and already has two huge, new assault ships and other new warships. The Canadian Armed Forces are a very poor second to Australia with 40-year old CF-18 fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, 30-year old submarines that seldom put to sea and no assault ships or attack helicopters. Aside from the red herring of geographic proximity, there are other factors that account for the stark differences in how Australia and Canada regard defence spending and the threat posed by an ascendant China. Many Canadians believe that the U.S. will protect them so do not see why should they pay more for their own defence. Australia also has a longstanding all-party consensus that national security is a top priority. The two main political parties in Canada regard procurement as football to be kicked around. Neither of them has a declared foreign policy. A cultural contrast is that Canadians have bought into a peacekeeping myth that has never really been true and is certainly not true today, while largely ignoring the wars its troops fought with great distinction in. Australians remain far more focused on recalling what their troops did in the Boer War, the two World Wars and Korea. As well as finally working on some joint defence procurement projects, Canada and Australia should collaborate with each other and other western nations to prevent China from playing them off against each other in trade. For example, Canadian farmers recently grabbed Australia's share of the barley market after China banned Australian barley in response to Canberra's demand for an independent investigation into what Beijing knew and when about COVID-19. The Australians did the same in reverse when Canadian canola was banned by China. Australia has moved to protect what it regards as its national interests by calling out China on human rights and spending much more on defence with little apparent fear as to how China might retaliate. Ottawa has not yet articulated what its interests are and acts as if it is scared at how China might respond if it takes a tougher stance. What must be acknowledged in Ottawa is that the coronavirus has not caused China to abandon or even pause for a moment in pursuit of its goal of shaping a new world order not only in the western Pacific but wherever it can. Australia is seriously upping its game in response. Canada remains silent. Matthew Fisher is an international affairs columnist and foreign correspondent who has worked abroad for 35 years. You can follow him on Twitter at @mfisheroverseas https://globalnews.ca/news/7161890/commentary-canada-should-follow-australias-example-in-defence-foreign-policy/

AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $22,890,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA8634-20-D-2704). The first delivery order has been awarded as an undefinitized contract action with a total not-to-exceed value, including options, of $1,192,215,413. It is a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price effort for the F-15EX system. This delivery order (FA8634-20-F-0022) provides for design, development, integration, manufacturing, test, verification, certification, delivery, sustainment and modification of F-15EX aircraft, as well as spares, support equipment, training materials, technical data and technical support. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri; and at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2023. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $248,224,746; and fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $53,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Filius Corp., Centreville, Virginia, has been awarded a $70,617,597 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for the AN/TYQ-23A (V)1 Tactical Air Operations Module weapons system logistics support. The contractor will provide all labor, tools, equipment, technical data/manuals, materials, supplies, parts, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service bulletins and services necessary to perform contractor logistics support on TYQ-23A (V)1 in accordance with OEM standards (commercial standards if third party is performing service/repair), including software/firmware upgrades. This support will also include emergency and preventative maintenance for any future technologies designed to be implemented in the TYQ-23A. Work will be performed in Centreville, Virginia, and is expected to be completed July 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with five offers received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,300,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8217-20-D-0005). Renco Corp., Manchester, Massachusetts, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $22,400,000 undefinitized contract action for capacity expansion of Nitrile beutadine rubber (NBR) gloves production for the Department of Health and Human Services in care of the Joint Acquisition Task Force. This contract provides for the procurement of raw NBR materials, dipping lines, storage tanks, storage equipment, roofing repairs, lighting, loading docks, water treatment, solar roofs and a remote facility to be determined at a later date in the south central part of the U.S. in order to bring an industrial base and to replenish the strategic national stockpile of Nitrile produced rubber gloves back to the U.S. Work will be performed in Colebrook, New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed July 14, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 other procurement funds in the amount of $22,400,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8527-20-C-0005). NAVY Blue Rock Structures Inc.,* Pollocksville, North Carolina (N40085-16-D-6300); Daniels & Daniels Construction Co. Inc.,* Goldsboro, North Carolina (N40085-16-D-6301); Joyce & Associates Construction Inc.,* Newport, North Carolina (N40085-16-D-6302); Military & Federal Construction Co. Inc.,* Jacksonville, North Carolina (N40085-16-D-6303); Quadrant Construction Inc.,* Jacksonville, North Carolina (N40085-16-D-6304); and TE Davis Construction Co.,* Jacksonville, North Carolina (N40085-16-D-6305), are awarded a $90,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award construction contracts for general construction services within the Marine Corps Installations East area of responsibility. After award of this modification, the total maximum dollar value for all six contracts combined will be $339,000,000. Work will be performed at Navy and Marine Corps installations at various locations including, but not limited to, North Carolina (90%); Georgia (3%); South Carolina (3%); Virginia (3%); and other areas of the U.S. (1%). The work to be performed provides for general construction services including, but not limited to, new construction, demolition, repair, alteration and renovation (total/partial/interior/exterior) of buildings, systems and infrastructure, which may include civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and communication systems; installation of new or extensions to existing high voltage electrical distribution systems; extensions to the existing high pressure steam distribution systems, potable water distribution systems and sanitary sewer systems; additional storm water control systems; painting; removal of asbestos materials and lead paint; and incidental related work. Work is expected to be completed by December 2020. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operations and maintenance (Marine Corps); and military construction funds (Marine Corps). The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $35,346,618 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-4316) to continue performance of the repair, maintenance, upgrades and modernization efforts on the USS Helena (SSN 725) dry-docking selected restricted availability (DSRA). Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia. The contracted requirements include advance and new work efforts necessary to repair, and maintain full unrestricted operation of the submarine, as well as upgrades and modernization efforts required to ensure the submarine is operating at full technical capacity as defined in the availability work package during the Chief of Naval Operations scheduled availability. Work is expected to be completed by October 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $35,346,618 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this contract was not competitively procure; only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirement. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, USN, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity. L3 Technologies Inc., Camden, New Jersey, is awarded a $34,999,948 fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract for the detail design and fabrication of a prototype Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV). This contract includes options for up to eight additional MUSVs, logistics packages, engineering support, technical data, and other direct costs, which, if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $281,435,446. Work will be performed in Morgan City, Louisiana (72.7%); Arlington, Virginia (9.8%); Jeanerette, Louisiana (8.1%); New Orleans, Louisiana (6.6%); Worthington, Ohio (1.7%); Lafayette, Louisiana (0.9 %); and Gautier, Mississippi (0.2%), and is expected to be completed by December 2022. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2027. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $34,999,948 will be obligated at the time of award, and $29,779,038 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities (now beta.SAM.gov), and five offers were received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-6312). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Maryland, is awarded an $11,300,000 not-to-exceed, cost-plus fixed-fee contract for the procurement of transitional development and sustaining engineering services for the Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR), to include software support activity transition, low/slow/small capability development and ground weapons locating radar improvements. The G/ATOR program is managed within the portfolio of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by July 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,217,296; and fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $3,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured and was prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, is awarded an $8,127,069 modification under previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-2111 to perform alterations during the USS South Dakota (SSN 790) post-delivery work period. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut. General Dynamics Electric Boat will perform planning and execution efforts on SSN 790, USS South Dakota. Work is expected to be completed by December 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $7,829,633 modification under previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-2111 to perform alterations during the USS South Dakota (SSN 790) post-delivery work period. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut. General Dynamics Electric Boat will perform planning and execution efforts on SSN 790, USS South Dakota. Work is expected to be completed by December 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $7,765,664 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-2104) for planning and execution of USS Delaware (SSN 791) post delivery work period (PDWP). Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut. Electric Boat Corp. will perform planning and execution efforts, including long lead time material procurement, in preparation to accomplish the maintenance, repair, alterations, testing, and other work on USS Delaware (SSN 791) during its scheduled PDWP. Work is expected to be completed by October 2020. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,765,664 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Eatontown, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $42,907,336 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for various pharmaceutical products. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is New Jersey, with a July 12, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 Warstopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D0-20-D-0006). ARMY Mathy Construction Co., Onalaska, Wisconsin, was awarded an $8,870,763 modification (P00002) to contract W911SA-19-D-2018 for asphalt paving at Fort McCoy. Work will be performed at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of July 14, 2022. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. The U.S. Army 419th Contracting Support Brigade, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $7,845,596 hybrid (cost-no-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract to provide U.S. Forces Korea with information technology, architecture and engineering, command and control networks and associated systems support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Pyongtaek, South Korea, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2025. The 411th Contracting Support Brigade, Camp Red Cloud, South Korea, is the contracting activity (W91QVN-20-F-0440). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2272447/source/GovDelivery/